Category : 401k

It’s easy to let your digital life get out of control. Files pile up, you constantly install new apps, and it’s a hassle to keep track of all those account logins. We know organizing is a daunting task, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Why not check off one thing a day in the list below? Your digital life will be in great shape after only a week!

Benefits of Organizing

Saves you time and possibly money

Increases online security

Gives you peace of mind

Here are some ideas for how to get started.

1. Delete Unused Apps

If you have apps you only used once, or lost interest in, take a few minutes to delete them. It will free up space on your device and possibly even make it faster. More importantly, once you uninstall an app, it no longer gathers your data. Therefore, you reduce the risk of a data breach affecting you.

Alternatively, if you don’t wish to get rid of apps, group them in folders for easy access.

Don’t forget to do this on your Mac or PC, as well. (If you need instructions for this, look to techlicious.)

2. Put Your Finances in one Place

You probably have more than bank account or credit card. Rather than going to their individual websites to see your account, why not see them all at once, with a service like Mint.com? You can sort and filter your transactions to your heart’s content, create budgets, and track your spending and credit score.

Benefits: Quick overview, notifications, time savings.

3. Clean Your Computer and Browser

Does your browser take a long time to start up? It might be slow because using the internet accumulates files, and there might be browser extensions you forgot about. You could clean your cache and download folders manually, or just use a free program like CCleaner to tidy up your system. It removes extraneous software and browser data, which in turn reduces your online vulnerability. If you’re also worried about malware, check out the free tools recommended by the National Cyber Security Alliance.

Benefits: Speeds up your device, increases security.

4. Consolidate Passwords

You’ve probably heard that you’re not supposed to use the same password for different accounts, because it makes you an easy target for hackers. On the other hand, nobody can seriously be expected to remember a different login for every site they use. What’s worse, letting your browser save passwords is a security risk, too. LastPass to the rescue! It’s a password manager (and one browser extension we do recommend you keep 😉) where you only have to remember one master password. Nice!

Benefits: Increased security, less frustration.

5. Organize Your Retirement

Managing a retirement account is a lot of work. You can have professionals do it for you at blooom, for only $10/month! See all your retirement accounts in once place, and let the pros worry about rebalancing and trying to get you a great expense ratio. Additionally, every blooom member has unlimited access to Financial Advisors – in case you need help organizing more than just your 401k.

Valentine’s Day puts a lot of focus on being in a relationship. If you’re reading this blog it probably means that you ARE in a relationship with your 401k, which is great! But just because you’re in a relationship doesn’t mean everything is perfect.

Odds are you fall into one of these six kinds of relationships with your 401k. Let’s put them under the microscope and see what’s going well and what flaws might exist.

The Giver

You are constantly contributing to your 401k. 10%, 15%, or 20%―it doesn’t matter. Anything to keep your 401k by your side all the way to retirement. You don’t care what funds you’re in or whether you get an employer match.

Pros: Contributing is numero uno when it comes to a happy relationship with your 401k, and giving all you’ve got to your 401k can cure a lot of ills.

Cons: The $$$ you put in your 401k should be working for you and not the other way around. Throwing your hard earned cash into a money market account or a high fee investment that doesn’t do anything for you can lead to heartbreak.

Things you might say to your 401k: Oh, you only had a 2% rate of return this year? It’s not your fault. Let me just up my contribution level to make you feel better.

The Taker

You set up your 401k… isn’t that enough? Why do you need to check in on it? It should just be grateful that you contribute a few bucks every paycheck.

Pros: Not looking at your 401k and over thinking it can be a virtue.

Cons: If the foundation of the relationship isn’t there, or if you’re not properly invested, this relationship could be going nowhere.

Things you might say to your 401k: Stop complaining, I could be spending my money elsewhere.

The Controller

One look at you and anyone can tell you care about your 401k. You are very attentive, but somewhere in all that effort you’re putting towards your 401k, you may start to suffocate it with your demands and restrictions.

In just a few days the Olympic Games will get underway: The world’s best will be going toe to toe to determine who will take home the gold. Did you know that getting a gold medal pays? For US athletes, it means $25,000 into their bank account. Not too shabby…

$25K is a great payday, but you don’t have to be a determined Olympian to optimize your finances. After all, blooom estimates that its average client saves more than $41,000 in hidden investment fees alone over their working careers*.

Lessons from Olympic athletes

Athlete: Ryan Zapolski

Discipline: Men’s Hockey

401k tip: Blocking hidden fees

As goalie for Team USA, Zapolski’s job is keeping the puck out of the net. The more the opponents score, the harder everyone on his team has to work to win. Likewise, when investors are incurring high fees, their investments have to work double time to make up for money that’s being taken out of the account. Just like Zapolski does with the puck, blooom works to keep hidden investment fees out of your proverbial 401k net.

Athlete: Nina Roth

Discipline: Women’s Curling

401k tip: Risk tolerance

In curling, the goal is literally to get as close to the target as possible. The same goes for retirement. When Roth throws her curling stone, she has to make sure she throws it aggressively enough to reach the target, but not too hard—risking missing it completely. As the stone gets closer to its goal, her teammates work to direct the stone down the perfect path. When you tell blooom your glide path (years to retirement), we adjust your investments and risk accordingly, to help you hit your goals.

Athlete: Nathan Chen

Discipline: Men’s Figure Skating

401k tip: Diversification

Chen might be known for his vaunted quad jumps, but it’s not all he does on the ice. He also skates gracefully, mixing in other moves like the camel spin, step sequence and the Salchow. Like a balanced, diversified portfolio, Chen knows it takes more than just one move (or fund) to win the gold.

Athlete: Kendall Wesenberg

Discipline: Women’s Skeleton

401k Tip: Rebalancing

When Wesenberg is flying down a patch of ice at over 80 MPH, she knows it’s the little tweaks, like a tilt of the head or shift of the shoulders, that make the difference between winning and losing. The same goes for your 401k. While your path to retirement doesn’t move nearly as fast as the skeleton, blooom regularly makes small tweaks to your investments. This helps your 401k get on the medal podium when you cross the retirement finish line.

Athlete: J.R. Celski

Discipline: Men’s Short Track Speed Skating

401k Tip: Getting professional help

Short track speed skating is riddled with obstacles and other competitors to knock you off track… or out of the race completely. Knowing how and when to react will be an important factor in Celski’s ability to win the race. Much like the chaos of the short track, the stock market goes up, down and all-around over the course of a person’s lifetime. Having a trusted partner to help you read what’s happening and make sense of it all can be the difference in making the right move or crashing out of the race.

Ready to join the team?

Becoming an Olympian is hard work and so is having a great 401k. Luckily for you, rocking your 401k isn’t an individual sport. Linking up your 401k to blooom is like joining the Dream Team.
U-S-A! 401k!

* $41,456 investment fee savings based on median blooom client 401k balance of $47,131. Assuming $5,000 annual contribution, pre-blooom investment expense ratio of .56%, post-blooom investment expense ratio of .22%, and 30 years until retirement as of January 9, 2018. Blooom is limited to the funds available in your employer sponsored retirement account. There is no guarantee blooom can or will reduce your fund expenses.

Forget your pecs. This year, invest in something that could actually get better as you get older! Make sure your company-sponsored retirement account is in tip-top shape to conquer the new year and beyond with these easy exercises.

Exercise 1: Match it pound for pound.

Just contributing to your 401k is a HUGE step in the right direction. So, pat yourself on the back for taking that leap! If you really want to make strides, muscle up and meet your company match. (It’s basically free money.)

Exercise 2: Stretch out your dollars.

Retirement is a marathon, not a sprint. Make sure you’re invested in the right mix to meet your goals. Maximize the distance, while protecting yourself against big injury to your account as you get closer to retiring.

Exercise 3: Avoid heavy lifting.

If you’re not properly trained, attempting to overhaul your 401k could be dangerous! A wrong move could be a real toe crusher. Luckily the independent experts at blooom are here to spot you when you’re ready.

Exercise 4: Sweat the small stuff.

Hidden fees and management percentages may seem small now, but by the time retirement hits could mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Make sure you are minimizing the fees in your 401k.

Does a 401k exercise still sound like too much effort? Outsource the workout with blooom.

The end of the year is a great time to reflect on your financial situation and plan ahead for next year. Here are some tips from one of our advisors:

Update wills/trusts and beneficiaries.
Get married this year? Have kids? Get divorced? Big life events mean it’s time to make sure legal docs like your will or trust, powers of attorney, life insurance policies, and account beneficiaries are all up-to-date. Forgetting to make these updates can be disastrous for families at some of the worst possible moments in their lives. Get in the habit of reviewing these things annually so nothing is missed.

Get a handle on your debt and plan ahead for next holiday shopping season.
Lay it all out there to get ready to tackle debt in the new year. If you’re like most Americans, you probably racked up some credit card debt you aren’t proud of this holiday season. What can you learn from that going into next year? Figure out how much of a holiday spending budget you need to plan for, divide that by 10 or 11 months and automate your savings into a savings account dedicated to holiday spending.

Use your raise (and possibly your bonus) to increase your 401k contributions.
Starting this year, get into the habit of taking a portion of any raise you receive and dedicating it to your 401k. For example, if you get a 5% raise, consider bumping up your contributions by 1% or more. Your paycheck still goes up, but your 401k also gets a boost. This habit can help you work toward maximizing your contributions over time, while having no real impact on your cash flow or budget. Also, see if your employer will allow you to contribute all or part of any year-end bonus you may receive toward your 401k. This can help reduce your taxable income come tax season and it also means you avoid the extra tax withholding on bonuses for that money.

Set aside time for a year-end financial review.
Look back on the year and take note of what you were able to accomplish financially and what setbacks you may have had. Use this past year as an opportunity to continue making smart financial decisions in the new year and learn from any of the times you may have stumbled. If you have a family, talk about upcoming trips, savings goals, and any other things you need to focus on next year. Set goals and even plan to celebrate financial accomplishments as a family throughout the year. Make money fun and before you know it, you’ll feel the freedom that comes along with financial security and eventually, financial independence!